December, 2006                                                                      

Happy Holidays!

A few weeks ago I was picking out an anniversary card for my parents.  I very carefully did the math trying to figure out which anniversary it was. I picked out the card, bought it, and sent it all in time for their anniversary.  It wasn’t until a day later that I realized I had figured the anniversary wrong because I had been convinced it was 2004!  It was while looking at a calendar that I realized my goof!  Well, this seems to sum up how this past year has gone… so much has happened in such a time warp!  Living our life daily, it seems that not too much changes, but looking back over the entire year, I am astounded.

Sofia is no longer a baby, but a full-grown independent toddler who would like very much to be four or seven.  She cannot be convinced that her size or age should keep her from the adventures of her siblings. Frankly, this makes for a lot of work for me and Marc.  And we are blessed that she at least usually has a really pleasant countenance. She is offering full-length sentences, although we only understand them partly. She loves to color.  She loves to climb. She loves to be read to. She loves to read and sing to herself. 

Anna takes very serious her role as a pre-schooler.  She is almost always the first ready for school, and can’t get enough work from me.  She also loves to be read to and to read to us… making long involved stories while she looks at pictures in books.  She makes up songs, and takes care of her babies. Because she has watched Marc and I dance, she will ask Daddy to dance with her. She loves things that are pink and beautiful, and loves to be adored.

Caleb has continued to blossom as a reader. Just recently he began to read the Little House on the Prairie book series that my Nana and Grampa gave to me when I was in second grade.  He is busy with science, math, and learning to write cursive.  He is memorizing Scripture and poems and writing a short creative story each week.  He is also doing some Spanish work.  When he isn’t busy with school he is usually engineering with his Lego’s.  His focus is incredible to watch. He literally memorizes Lego magazines as they come and can copy many things, as well as designing his own creations. Currently, he is involved in trying to earn money for another Lego set.  He is busy setting up a store of toys that he no longer wants.  He has recently begun Cub Scouts, and is thrilled to be meeting other young boys.

Marc was able to celebrate the finish of a capital campaign for the nursing home associated with the hospital, and the success of a bike-a-thon and a benefit concert.  He continues to hit and exceed his goals at work.  The first draft of his fundraising book is out being reviewed by a bunch of people, and our hope will be to have it published in 2007.  He maintains a blog that hundreds subscribe to, and has been invited to speak at several conferences in 2007.  At a Blackbaud (a fundraising software) conference he spoke at this past Fall, he was voted one of the Top 10 Speakers by the participants. 

Emily’s year has been consumed with caring for three young children primarily. I have been blessed with a couple sweet friendships with other moms.  It seems that all the kids moved to a place of needing more at all the same time, so not too much for growth or change has happened for me.  My highlights have been ballroom dancing lessons with Marc, and a pottery class that I took through adult education.  Just last week I was appointed to the Waterville Public Library Board, which I am really looking forward to. Also, I have been asked to help write for the PR department at the hospital on one of the regular publications. 

Our work with the Vineyard Church of Waterville continues to amaze us.  It is all at once a wonderful and difficult job, and one we are usually very thankful for.  We have continued to grow as leaders and to grow in our vision for what we are doing here.  We have far more of an impact in our community than our Sunday Services show right now, and we are actually very happy for that.  Waterville and Maine are communities of great need with high poverty levels, abusive households, and epidemic levels of addiction.  So we are finding that it isn’t so much a question of what to do, as it is a question of where to start.

Our hope for our family and for you is that the season celebrating His coming will  be one of a mighty encounter with the One Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is to Come.  May your Christmas and New Year bring His Kingdom and Glory into your lives and those around you.

Love and Blessings,

Emily, Marc, Caleb, Anna, & Sofia

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